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Discussion in the Bacon thread has spilled over into the realm of BBQ and rather than hijack that thread I thought I would be appropriate to have a place to discuss all things BBQ. I used the all mighty search engine but didn't find any BBQ specific threads so here we are. Sauces, Rubs, Meats, Smokers, Grills, Equipment, Techniques... It's all fair game.

I'll post a basic BBQ sauce recipe that was shared in the Bacon thread:

conejote wrote:

For a basic bbq sauce, experiment with varying ratios of molasses, cider vinegar & ketchup. Flavor with liquid smoke, salt, pepper & cayenne or other heat source. Minced onion and/or jalapeno are optional. It'll be better than most anything on the store shelf.

I really only use this for grilling chicken wings (cooked indirect first, then slathered on & direct grilled). Thick consistency & plenty of sugar makes it stick to the meat & caramelize really well.

When I'm really barbecuing (many hours in the smoker, 225F or so), sauce generally just gets in the way. Brisket & pork ribs require only a dry rub, though I usually make a thin vinegar & pepper sauce for smoked pork shoulder.

We've already come to the conclusion that many Goodjers enjoy Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauces. While I do love SBR's I am more of a dry rub fan with my sauce on the side, if at all. I've only slightly experimented in making my own runbs, and I'd like to do more experimenting this year. When using a store bought rub I really like BBQ 3000 or Galena Street Rib Rub, both from Penzey's.

Anyone have experience with cast iron cookware? I had a pre-seasoned skillet last year that rusted within a week and I had used the recommended care instructions.

I want to pickup a cast iron dutch oven (for smoked chili) and another skillet but due to my experience, I'm a little hesitant. But obviously cast iron is a great material and people have lots of success.

What am I doing wrong?

Acidic stuff (tomatoes, wine, vinegar, citrus) will eat at cast iron unless it has a really good patina on it from seasoning. While the initial seasoning on most cast iron is pretty good, it's best to get some more in there by popping a few batches of popcorn or following the many other seasoning tips out there. Also, dry and oil it after every time you use it.

shoptroll wrote:

Also, where are you storing it? I noticed the underside of my skillet picked up a little bit of rust because I was storing it on top of a pizza stone on top of my microwave. I don't know how the physics worked (I'd love if someone could explain this to me) but somehow there was a thin layer of water that kept forming between the skillet and the stone when I was storing them there.

Natural stone holds a certain amount of moisture which it will absorb/exude depending on the temperature and humidity of the air around it. If the temperature fluctuates a lot (like when it's above a cooking appliance) this will happen more.

Heavy cast iron is a heat sink. It will absorb heat from the air and collect moisture on its surface as it evaporates out of the stone underneath it.

Essentially you had a tiny microclimate with its own water cycle. Cool!

"I basically do what Lou says." -- Yonder "My love is for Lou." -- LiquidMantis
"LouZiffer is a gentleman, a rogue, and a fantastic lover." -- Vector
"You could yoink it for a Sig." -- Demosthenes

While the initial seasoning on most cast iron is pretty good, it's best to get some more in there by popping a few batches of popcorn or following the many other seasoning tips out there. Also, dry and oil it after every time you use it.

This could be where my problem started. I should have pre-seasoned it myself instead of trusting in the factory.

So say I have a cast iron dutch oven and make a big pot of chili. What is the proper way to clean it? Rinse it off with water, then dry it, and then re-oil it? Do I have to apply heat after re-oiling it, essentially seasoning it again?

Last question: olive oil fine for seasoning or do you prefer vegetable or even peanut?

I go with cheap vegetable oil, since it imparts hardly any flavors. Canola, safflower, or peanut would work fine too. Olive oil would be among my last candidates as the cheap stuff usually has impurities and imparts flavor.

"I basically do what Lou says." -- Yonder "My love is for Lou." -- LiquidMantis
"LouZiffer is a gentleman, a rogue, and a fantastic lover." -- Vector
"You could yoink it for a Sig." -- Demosthenes

Can't believe how much traffic this thread is getting months after I move out of Texas. Cruel fate!

I'm supposed to buy a grill sometime after my wedding at the end of this month. We had already been looking at a Weber, but now I feel better armed with wider options and general characteristics to look for. I haven't done any big-boy grilling ever, so I may need some troubleshooting from y'all -- have to practice lots so we can host at least one real BBQ party this summer!

EDIT: Seems like nowhere in my neck of the Canadian woods is selling Ducane, which is a shame because I thought the Affinity 4100 might be nice. Weber seems to be available locally, though -- hopefully I can get my hands on some good models.

Last question: olive oil fine for seasoning or do you prefer vegetable or even peanut?

I go with cheap vegetable oil, since it imparts hardly any flavors. Canola, safflower, or peanut would work fine too. Olive oil would be among my last candidates as the cheap stuff usually has impurities and imparts flavor.

A quick search on DuckDuckGo turned up what seems like a rather promising article -- read the article thoroughly and as many comments as you can feasibly get through. A popular StackExchange answer also links back to that article.

The short answer is that you want oils with a high iodine value, which reflects a capacity for polymerization. Soybean and sunflower are quite good for this, and canola isn't too bad. [Edited for brain hiccup.]

The short answer is that flaxseed oil has a high iodine value, which reflects its capacity for polymerization, which is what you're looking for.

You're like, the Goodjer Alton Brown.

Speaking of grills, ever considered a Big Green Egg, Cyranix? I love mine. Slow 250 degree smokes for ~10 hours on one load of lump, homemade pizza at 500 degrees, and everything in between. I've even made a pecan smoked Bananas Foster which was indescribably delicious. I also like how I can smoke in the NJ winter due to it retaining heat far better than a metal grill/smoker. It's a bit pricey but totally worth it and will undoubtedly last longer than me.

Yes. NEVER trust a factory "seasoning". That goes for the cast iron grill grates you can get as well.

A bit of rust doesn't hurt the pan. You don't have to get rid of it. Just scrub the rust and that cheap-ass seasoning coat away with steel wool and then season it again properly.

I intrinsically don't trust new cast iron at all. Most of my big pieces were my grandmother's and they've been through anything that can be dished out of a pan. I've gotten two of my best pieces at a thrift store (a griddle and a baking mold with six wells shaped like corn ears for cornbread). They had a fine coating of rust, but no pitting or anything. So I brought them home, scoured the heck out of them with steel wool and a brass bristle brush for the corners and fiddly bits, filled them with Crisco and took them down to the park to season them in the big grill. They've been awesome ever since.

LouZiffer wrote:

FSeven wrote:

Thanks for the info guys. I'll have to try cast iron again.

Last question: olive oil fine for seasoning or do you prefer vegetable or even peanut?

I go with cheap vegetable oil, since it imparts hardly any flavors. Canola, safflower, or peanut would work fine too. Olive oil would be among my last candidates as the cheap stuff usually has impurities and imparts flavor.

This.

Maybe this issue is best debated amongst the people who need to get off my lawn. - JoeBedurndurn

Speaking of grills, ever considered a Big Green Egg, Cyranix? I love mine. Slow 250 degree smokes for ~10 hours on one load of lump, homemade pizza at 500 degrees, and everything in between. I've even made a pecan smoked Bananas Foster which was indescribably delicious. I also like how I can smoke in the NJ winter due to it retaining heat far better than a metal grill/smoker. It's a bit pricey but totally worth it and will undoubtedly last longer than me.

My former boss had two BGEs, and they seem really awesome... but I can't spring for that price range yet though.

Can't believe how much traffic this thread is getting months after I move out of Texas. Cruel fate!

I'm supposed to buy a grill sometime after my wedding at the end of this month.

EDIT: Seems like nowhere in my neck of the Canadian woods is selling Ducane, which is a shame because I thought the Affinity 4100 might be nice. Weber seems to be available locally, though -- hopefully I can get my hands on some good models.

Hi Cryanix!

Congratulations on the wedding!

One thing to consider when buying equipment is trying to figure out exactly what you want to do with it.

Grilling is a direct, high heat.
BBQ is indirect, Low heat
Smoking is indirect, very low heat with a huge amount of smoke to help impart additional flavor to the meats

The small smoker that I use at home is a New Braunfels Black Diamond or NBBD on some BBQ forums =D
It has an offset fire box so you can choose to make the fire Direct or Indirect as your needs change.

You can find a decent priced clone for about $150 to $200 here in Texas. YMMV up in Canada but they last a long time.
Mine is currently almost 12 years old and still going strong.

We have an exceedingly windy balcony (flipped our picnic table the other day--probably time to ditch that). We have a Weber Q, which tends to perform pretty crappily in terms of flame size. It's often bad enough that I can't cook anything, or that lighting it yields only a couple little blue dots of flame along the whole pipe. I've tried multiple propane tanks and checked the line for leaks. What's the problem?

A) Dust, bugs, etc. are clogging the line.
B) The winds blow out the flame and trigger safety valves in the grill and/or tank.
C) It's a stupid POS and I hate it.

Hypatian wrote:

Words... are a big deal.

Enix wrote:

The only way writers are going to get better is if they get some decent damned editing.